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The harsh words to dissuade him from following me faded on my tongue at the swiftness of his reaction. When was the last time anyone asked me how I was? Much less if I was alright.
I pressed my tongue against the back of my teeth. "I'm fine," I assured him after a moment. He hadn't continued to hold me. Some men would have definitely used getting their hands on me to their advantage. But not Merrick, once he was sure I was stable, he released me.
"Who are you?" I had to know.
"Merrick," he repeated, "I'm Merrick Wright."
"Merrick Wright," I tested the name slowly. If we were anywhere else, I'd look for cameras or something. This reminded me of one of those practical joke shows I'd watched for a while. Dad had been correct though, too much would rot the brain.
He chuckled. "That's my name. I told you earlier, I was Merrick. I just want to make sure you got home but since you said you could. I’ll make sure you get back to your car safely. I don't know if you've noticed, but this isn't the best neighborhood."
It was my turn to laugh. Because my well planned, flawless evening, had taken such a turn and it kept going on around the corner. "Well, Mr. Wright." I couldn't even say that with a straight face. "Merrick, I'm sure you have other places to be."
"Actually," he said without any hint of artifice. "I really don't. I just got out of a program. I got laid off from my job right before that. I've got some savings, but—I don't even have a cat. There was my parents’ place but… you know, I'm all yours."
"Where's your car?"
"Oh, don't have one. I gave my last car away. Family down the street needed it more. Theirs died and it was just her and her kids. The dad took off. Deadbeat. Never liked him. I did everything I could for her, but it really made her uncomfortable." He frowned like he'd said too much. "Not that it's important, but no, I don't have a vehicle, currently."
Then where was he going? There was a hospital not far from here, but it was a private facility.
"I just want to make sure you're alright," Merrick said slowly. "I promise. Zero bad intentions."
I wasn't sure he'd know a bad intention if it walked up and bit him in the ass. In fact, cutting him loose might not do him any favors.Sorry, Dad. I know what you'd do, but I have a feeling that's not what he needs.
“Come with me, I can take you somewhere,” I murmured and jerked my head toward a side street. With any luck, he wouldn’t realize the circles we’d made around where he found me. If he didn’t notice, he wouldn’t ask questions.
I’d really hate to lie to him, or worse. Cutting my gaze to Merrick as he fell into easy steps beside me, I sighed. He was half staring at me, while trying not to make it obvious. There was so much open honesty in his expression.
I couldn’t lie to him, or hurt him. It just seemed wrong.
“So, are you from around here? My family moved to this part of the country about five years ago, and I couldn’t stand to not see them, so much so, I came with them.” He hoisted his duffle higher as he angled his shoulders to face me head on, not even trying to hide it now.
I bristled, even as I warmed from so much direct attention. Fuck. This was exactly what I didn’t want. Personal questions.
“Oh yeah, where did you come from before that?”
Without blinking, he grinned and answered my question as if I hadn’t just deflected my ass off. “We lived in Seattle before here. You know, a lot of people hate that state for all the rain, but it’s beautiful. If you’ve never been, I’d be honored to play tour guide sometime. I do know all the local spots.” He smiled, and I nearly tripped.
Damn, he was beautiful too.
Arms swiftly closed around me as I was whisked around to his other side. One arm banded around my lower back, as the other cradled the back of my head. I was practically smooshed to his chest, as his heart beat a steady thrum beneath my cheek. “Are you sure you’re okay to walk? I know that must have been traumatizing.” He softened his voice as if in an attempt to soothe me. “How far are you parked from here? I could carry you.”
Momentarily shocked, by both the proprietary hold and his words, I almost let him pick me up. Almost.
“Stop that! I’m fine.” I smacked his chest and he jerked his arms back.
“Sorry! I’m sorry.” He held his hands up, like he was ready to snatch me from my feet if the ground looked at me funny.
Snorting, I shook my head. “Don’t be sorry, let’s just get going.”
He wisely didn’t ask me any more questions for the last few minutes of the walk. When we reached my car, I sent a swift glance around the street. I’d already canvased it before parking here, but I could never be too sure.
“Get in,” I said as I slid into the driver's seat and stuffed the bag of clothes under my seat. I’d stick them in the secret compartment under my console as soon as we were away from the street, just in case there were eyes on us, even the unsuspecting kind.
Merrick fastened his seatbelt after adjusting his duffle at his feet, then slapped his hands on his knees. “Where to?” he asked with a ridiculously endearing grin.
Taking him along was so many different kinds of mistakes, I couldn't even begin to list all of them. Good looking. Affable. Sweet to the point of—well, not nauseating. No. That would be rather rude to compare him to eating too many sweets. I wasn't even a huge fan of chocolate. I liked it in small quantities.
